Charity's first woman President is announced
1 July 2010
Elizabeth Banks DL has been elected as President of the RHS. She is the first woman to be appointed President in our 206 year history and also the first RHS President with a professional background in horticulture.
Mrs Banks is a landscape architect renowned for her pioneering work on both historic and contemporary gardens in a professional career spanning 25 years and three continents. Following an international career with Land Use Consultants, in 1987 she set up her own consultancy, Elizabeth Banks Associates, which she chaired until 2005. Elizabeth Banks Associates has won five Gold medals for gardens at the RHS Chelsea Flower Shows. With her husband Lawrence Banks, who is a Vice President of the RHS, Mrs Banks manages the Hergest Estate and Hergest Croft Gardens in Herefordshire, which extend to over 70 acres and contain national collections of Acer, Betula and Zelkova. She is a local councillor and trustee of several other charities and chairman of the Queenswood Coronation Fund. She is also a member of the Arboreta Advisory Committee for Westonbirt Arboretum and Bedgebury Pinetum.
Mrs Banks succeeds Giles Coode-Adams, who has been President of the RHS since December 2008.
The election of Sir Nicholas Bacon Bt OBE DL as Treasurer of the RHS was also confirmed at the RHS Annual General Meeting at RHS Garden Harlow Carr in Yorkshire on 1 July.
Sir Nicholas owns and runs the Raveningham Estate in South Norfolk, which opens to the public for 80 days a year, specialising in galanthus, euphorbias and agapanthus. Sir Nicholas is Lord Warden of the Stannaries of the Duchy of Cornwall. He is Chairman of the Royal Norfolk Agricultural Association, Patron of a Further Education college specialising in horticulture and trustee of the Norfolk and Norwich Festival. He has been Chairman of the East of England Regional Committee of the National Trust and Treasurer of the Historic Houses Association.
Sir Nicholas succeeds Andrew Sells as Treasurer.
Three new Members of Council were also elected. Rosie Atkins has been curator of Chelsea Physic Garden since 2002. She is a Trustee of Great Dixter Charitable Trust and Gardening for the Disabled, Chairman of the London Gardens Network and a Patron of the Professional Gardeners Guild Trust Appeal. She was the founding editor of Gardens Illustrated from 1992 until 2002.
Peter Gregory is a soil scientist and Chief Executive and Institute Director of the Scottish Crop Research Institute. He is on a wide range of scientific advisory committees including Chairman of the Advisory Committee for Novel Foods and Processes for the Food Standards Agency. He is also a member of the Scottish Science Advisory Council.
David Haselgrove practised as a solicitor for 36 years in North East London until his retirement. Since 1987 he has created a 3.5 acre garden on a bare field site in Hertfordshire. He served as publications manager for the Alpine Garden Society for 29 years, and currently serves on its committee.